Yes. Thank you for that question.
It's very interesting. We participated in a study on polarization with the Public Policy Forum a few years ago and did a number of focus groups with young people about how they were feeling about online discourse and how it either helped or didn't help their sense of democratic participation or their desire to participate. The prevailing feedback we got was that it just made them feel disconnected from.... They were confused about their own opinions, disconnected from other citizens and uncertain about our institutions.
I think the general confusion and swirl and anxiety of engaging online created really difficult circumstances for them to assess, make decisions and understand how people they respect and care about think about things. It made discourse more difficult. A lot of conversations are happening online in an environment that is incredibly polarized and increasingly extreme. Just generally, as you're trying to figure out your own political orientation, it's not conducive to good, civic discourse.